Middleton Selectmen keep Burns Security deal after cost questions

Board of Selectmen · Meeting of June 9, 2026

Middleton Selectmen face a state challenge to this year's tax cap vote on warrant articles 7 through 16. The Massachusetts Department of Revenue told the board it used a different baseline than the town's legal counsel when calculating whether spending exceeded the 2 percent tax cap, a dispute that could affect the town's garbage collection funding; town counsel is now negotiating directly with DRA's legal department. The board separately approved transferring $14,853.89 from the operating account to the ambulance revolving fund to correct a 2023-2024 billing shortfall, and voted to route future ambulance and insurance payments directly into that account going forward.

Members also revisited, but ultimately upheld, an earlier decision to hire Burns Security for town building monitoring after a $11,020 setup cost drew questions; a motion to reconsider died for lack of a second. "Why am I missing" pieces of the cost breakdown, one member asked repeatedly during the presentation. The board also approved four routine fire department transfers totaling $17,289.57.

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Source: the Board of Selectmen meeting of June 9, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.